Factors affecting germination and storage ability of ficus sur forssk., ficus sycomorus L. and ficus vasta forssk. seeds

Ficus species are among the oldest traditionally preferred trees for multipurpose uses in Ethiopia. However newrecruitment of seedlings of F. vasta, F. sycomorus, and F. sur are rarely occurring. The propagation methods of these species is not known, even in areas where they are traditionally used as coffee shade. This study was made to investigate whether these species produce viable seeds that could germinate, and the conditions required for seed germination and handling for nurserymen and gene bank management. For all three species, the effects of light on seed germination were studied for freshly harvested seeds without drying and after being dried under laboratory conditions. The storage experiment was done at three storage conditions: room temperature and cold rooms (at + 5OC and at -10OC) at fresh, medium dry and dry moisture content for 30 days. Pretreatment was also made on F. vasta seeds by putting the seeds in concentrated sulphuric acid (96%) for two and five minutes and mechanical scarification by rubbing the seeds in-between finest sandpaper. The effect of GA3 on F.vasta seeds was conducted as a factorial experiment in light and darkness. The application of gibberellic acid relieved dark induced dormancy at 10, 100 and 500 ppm, solution of gibberellic acid inhibited germination in light. All te three species, F. vasta, F. sycomorus, and F. sur gave poor germination in darkness. these seeds are positively photoblastic. For the storage experiments, even if the period of study was too short, all the seeds were found to be desiccation tolerant. Temporary storage of dried seeds at -10OC did not affect its storability. The scarification pretreatment (both acid and mechanical) gave poor germination as compared to the control. It was concluded that the three fig tree species produce viable seeds regularly which are dispersed by birds and mammals. There was no indication of innate seed dormancy. The limitations to seedling establishment in its natural environment might be abiotic factors like light, moisture, soil, etc. All the three Ficus species produce desiccation tolerant seeds. The seedlings can be raised with less difficulty but the seeds need shallow burial and sowing.